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South defeats Hurricane to get in win column

By Kerry Patrick 6 min read

PARKERSBURG - The offensive linemen for Parkersburg South can lean on Kooper Jackson as their meal ticket.

A dinner anyway is what Jackson feels he owes them after his performance during Friday's 32-27 win over Erickson All-Sports Facility. Jackson broke two long runs for touchdowns and finished with 196 yards on 20 carries.

"The line did a really good job tonight - I need to get them some dinner or something like that after this," Jackson said.

South quarterback Logen Arnold was also the beneficiary of a line which provided enough time for him to throw two long balls to receiver Josiah Swiger for touchdown catches of 19 and 49 yards.

The defense limited Hurricane to six first-half points and held up long enough in the second half to give South its first win of the regular season and end a string of frustrating close-calls which led into last week's off week.

"This win means a lot," South coach Larry Thompson said. "We have had some ups and downs. I'm proud of these kids for remaining resilient, fighting adversity and playing for one another."

Arnold's third touchdown completion - a 4-yard reception by Titan Baruwa - put Hurricane in a desperate position trailing 32-13 with just less than eight minutes remaining in regulation.

On the third-and-goal play call, Arnold rolled to his right and sold the run then pedalled back a few steps and tossed to an open Baruwa in the end zone.

The Redskins then found new life and rather quickly. On the second play from scrimmage on the ensuing possession, quarterback Archer Altizer connected with Dylan Widen for a 64-yard TD strike. South defensive back Christian Johnson read the play and was in position for the interception but the ball eluded him and hit Widen in stride.

Trying to slam the door shut, South's Brayden Stone recovered the onside kick. However, the Patriots couldn't take advantage of the short field as placekicker Wyatt Bartley had his 38-yard field goal attempt blocked.

With 2:12 showing and no timeouts remaining, Hurricane covered 71 yards with barely a minute running off the clock. Altizer's 22-yard TD completion to Riley Armstrong and the ensuing point after cut the deficit to 32-27 with 59 seconds left in regulation.

Hurricane lined up for another onside kick, and this time Jackson went straight to the ground and covered it. The senior took several moments to finally get up off the ground as crisis averted.

"I was kind of surprised they kicked it to me," Jackson said. "We have been working so hard -- I feel this win puts us in a better mindset because all of us were kind of down. As soon as Monday arrives, we are going to forget about this one and move on to Morgantown next Friday.

"We need to keep watching film and get better each day."

South's offense went to work from the start. A 25-yard completion from Arnold to Ledger Corwin brought the Patriots out of the shadows of their own end zone. Two plays later, Jackson hit the second level of Hurricane's defense and not one Redskin could chase him down as he raced 56 yards for the TD for a 6-0 lead midway in the first quarter.

A meticulous approach allowed Hurricane to tie the game after using 11 plays to complete a 70-yard drive. Altizer's 3-yard run found the zone with 2:37 left in the first period.

South's offense went 3-for-3 converting touchdowns to open the game. On the very first play from scrimmage to start the second quarter, Jackson again used his breakaway speed to pull ahead of the Hurricane defenders and a 59-yard TD run. Basically a carbon copy of his first TD.

After forcing a Hurricane punt, Arnold's 28-yard completion to Graham set up another find to Graham -- a 19-yard grab for the first of his two touchdowns. Graham finished the game with 134 yards in six receptions, while Arnold completed 14-of-21 passes for 194 yards with no interceptions.

Altizer's 8-yard TD run opened the scoring in the third quarter, but South responded when Arnold went deep yet again to Swiger, who put a gap between him and the defender behind him while catching the ball in stride and scoring on a 49-yard reception to give South a 25-13 lead at the midpoint of the third quarter.

"Obviously, we knew Hurricane was going to throw everything at us," Thompson said. "But kudos to our kids. They battled, rode the emotional wave and got over that hump. The guys executed at a high level. We put an emphasis on detail the last two weeks.

"Over the course of the first five weeks, we were shooting ourselves in the foot. We battled and competed with everybody we played. When you are 0-5 you are trying to get kids to do everything the right way. And that's a challenge within itself."

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

Parkersburg South 32, Hurricane 27

Hurricane (1-5) 6 0 7 14 - 27

South (1-5) 6 12 7 7 - 32

First Quarter

PS: Kooper Jackson 56 run (run failed), 7:30

H: Archer Altizer 3 run (run failed), 2:37

Second Quarter

PS: Jackson 59 run (run failed), 11:49

PS: Josiah Swiger 19 pass from Logen Arnold (kick failed), 3:51

Third Quarter

H: Altizer 8 run (Paxton Bocook kick), 7:49

PS: Swiger 49 pass from Arnold (Wyatt Bartley kick), 6:14

Fourth Quarter

PS: Titan Baruwa 4 pass from Arnold (Bartley kick), 7:47

H: Dylan Widen 64 pass from Altizer (Bocook kick), 6:56

H: Riley Armstrong 22 pass from Altizer (Bocook kick), 59.2

Team Stats

Hurricane. First downs: 21. Rushing yards: 30-137. Passing yards: 228. Total yards: 365. Passing: 14-25-1. Fumbles lost: 0

South. First downs: 16. Rushing yards: 35-214. Passing yards: 194. Total yards: 408. Passing: 14-21-0. Fumbles-lost: 0.

Individual Stats

Hurricane: Rushing: Archer Altizer 17-61, Tyler Lauerman 7-43, Isaiah Kutscher 3-22, Riley Armstrong 2-12. Passing: Archer Altizer 14-23-1, 228 yards; Isaiah Kutscher 0-2-0. Receiving: Riley Armstrong 6-114, Dylan Widen 4-96, Paxton Bocook 2-12, Zael Sack 1-5, Devon Short 1-1.

South. Rushing: Kooper Jackson 20-196, Asa Yost 10-8, Jaqwae Brown 2-8. Passing: Login Arnold 14-21-0, 194 yards. Receiving: Josiah Swiger 6-131, Jaqwae Brown 4-21, Ledger Corwin 2-33, Titan Baruwa 2-17.

Next game: Morgantown at Parkersburg South, 7 p.m.; Oak Hill at Hurricane, 7:30 p.m.

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